- The knuckleheads meet in Davos… again!
- The POTUS is making the Chinese sweat…
Good Day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Well, I mentioned yesterday that I hadn’t slept much recently, and then… After my morning routine, I sat in my recliner, leaned back and proceeded to sleep all day, into the evening. I woke up refreshed and thinking that I had finally caught up with my lack of sleep! YAHOO! The doc told me that the drugs that I’m taking could cause tiredness and fatigue…They did!
Well, the dollar kind of hung in there VS the currencies yesterday, with the BBDXY gaining 1 index point, the euro holding steady Eddie above 1.04, and with Gold kicking tail and taking names later! Dollar traders were correct with their knee jerk reaction to the POTUS’s call for tariffs, with their selling of dollars. But… That selloff didn’t have any legs yesterday, and last night… Don’t tell me that the Dollar traders ran out of gas! Oh well, at leas they got it right on Monday…
The article I have for you in the FWIW section today, talks about how currencies might be in for a rise VS the dollar…. So, we have that going for us today!
The price of Gold took off to higher ground yesterday. Gold closed the day, up $36 to close at $2.744.50, and Silver closed the day up 34-cents, to close at $30.88… I think the buying of physical Gold and Silver is being pushed higher by the thought that the POTUS will implement tariffs on the metals being imported…. This is pushing Gold & Silver to higher levels… Not too fast there metals traders, we don’t want to wake up the short paper traders… Let sleeping dogs lay….
The price of Oil slipped another buck yesterday, still reeling from Trump’s phrase: “Drill baby Drill”…. Oil ended the day trading with a $75 handle…. And the Treasury’s 10-year saw its yield at 4.57%… Looks like the Fed Heads are doing a good job of putting a lid on bond yields, eh?
In the overnight markets last night…. The dollar lost that 1 index gain it had yesterday, and the BBDXY starts today at 1,301… Gold is up $10 to start the day today, while Silver is down 11-cents… No biggie and easily turned around for Silver… You know yesterday’s metal’s performance was good, but could have been categorized as great, IF… The short paper trades weren’t doing their best to keep that from happening… UGH!
The price of Oil bumped to $76 where it starts today… And the 10-year Treasury’s yield is at 4.58% to start the day today… Why can’t the Fed Heads keep their hands out of the cookie jar? That’s the question I would ask chief Fed Head Jerome Powell at his next press conference!
Well, it’s that time of year again… You know, when the Swiss town of Davos, gets inundated with knuckleheads… Here’s the real skinny: Annual World Economic Forum begins in ski resort town of Davos, Switzerland, hosting government leaders, multinational CEOs, and global financiers… Funny, I never get an invitation to this boondoggle… And that’s fine with me, for I abhor cold weather and snow…. These knuckleheads try to figure out what’s wrong with the world…. I wonder if they will still be harping on Climate Change…. It’s changing alright… To the way it used to be again….
The new DOGE duo of Elon Mush and Vivek Ramaswamy received some bad news yesterday, Ramaswamy has handed in his notice that he will drop out of the DOGE and run for Gov. of Ohio…
OK, so you’ve read this letter for some time, and will recall me saying that Janet Yellen (former Treasury Sec.) was either lying or didn’t really know about the economy, when she would state the economy is strong…. Here is a piece from an article in Zerohedge.com regarding this so-called “Strong economy”: “The narrative that the economy is strong is a false narrative. The only thing that matters is the median household income. If 32% of the households can’t afford the roof over their head, then that is the irrefutable proof of the false narrative. The average homeowner (Mom and Pop) with an income of $80,000 is roughly $9,000 short per year which explains the 50% increase in the default rate on credit cards.
If you believe that 32% of households don’t matter, then consider if they don’t pay their debt, those debts then become transferred to the remaining households, thus a closed loop argument and system failure. These debts cannot be pushed onto the remaining household.
For years, the projections of economic growth by the Federal Reserve have consistently overstated the strength of the U.S. economy. But every single time, the mainstream media continues to report that these numbers are “reliable”. These consistent lies, even out of ignorance, make the mainstream media culpable in deluding the public, even if it is considered wishful thinking it ends up being pure fraud perpetrated on a global scale.”
Chuck again… Well, at least there’s someone else who agrees with me on this so-called: “Strong economy”
And once again, longtime readers will agree that I’ve pointed out how inane the STUPID CPI is each month. Well, there was some news about CPI calculation so with no further ado…. “The FED changed the definition of CPI now to exclude food (groceries), fuel, health insurance, tax, and increased costs of goods and services which are arbitrarily assigned a value. Has your cost of living only increased by 2.6% per year over the last 5 years as stated by the FED? Has your cost of health insurance only gone up 2.6% per year? Have your groceries only gone up 2.6% per year? How about your rent? The purchasing power of the U.S Dollar has declined by at least 7.5% compounded per year over the last 5 years. Inflation is the devaluation of your purchasing power, and the CPI is the Ultimate Big Lie.”
The U.S. Data Cupboard today, finally there will a piece of real economic data and that is: Dec Leading Indicators… I told you yesterday that these indicators have been negative for so long that it would look unnatural for them to be positive! So… Expect another negative print.
To recap… The dollar got sold big time on Monday, but yesterday there was not any follow through, so I said that the dollar traders got it right on Monday… Gold & Silver went to higher ground yesterday, as the markets are finally getting the message that tariffs = inflation…. The BLS is changing the calculation for the STUPID CPI again, and so long Vivek, we hardly knew ya!
For What It’s Worth… This article is about currency manipulation, but fails to mention the PPT/ U.S. Oh well, it can be found here: Currency Manipulation Warning Sparks Debate on Trump’s Plans – Bloomberg
Or, here’s your snippet: “Donald Trump’s first day in office has whipsawed global markets, with traders zeroing in on a warning over currency manipulation which may spark greater volatility ahead.
A fact sheet from the new US administration that is yet to be made public has called for key federal agencies to address foreign-exchange manipulation by other countries, prompting strategists to ponder who will be targeted. Japan, China, Germany and Singapore are already on the US Treasury Department’s “monitoring list” for currency practices.
“That’s a ground-breaking newsworthy item for currencies,” said Richard Franulovich, head of foreign-exchange strategy at Westpac Banking Corp. Trump and Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent may “apply more judgment and discretion, meaning more trading partners are labeled as manipulators.”
Trump’s move comes after high US interest rates and strong growth have kept the dollar elevated against everything from the euro to the yuan, entrenching its dominance across the $7.5 trillion-a-day foreign-exchange market. The prospect of further gains in the greenback is likely to put other nations on guard and may fuel another round of intervention to prop up their currencies.
“This fact sheet mentioned by Trump may seem new but is likely similar to the existing one, perhaps with greater emphasis on ‘manipulators’,” said Christopher Wong, strategist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. “If there is more added to the list, then likely there could be some volatility around it.”
Chuck again… I think the finance ministers of the major countries need to meet again, like they did in 1985, and proclaim that the dollar is too strong! Now that would be the ticket!
And regarding tariffs… Pres Trump said that he would implement tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Feb 1… He also said that he would have more discussions regarding the tariffs on China…. Ah that’s an old trade negotiation and let them think and sweat, before coming to the negotiation table…
Market Prices 1/22/2025: American Style: A$ .6278, kiwi .5672, C$ .6973, euro 1.0433, sterling 1.2349, Swiss $1.1046, European Style: rand 18.4781, krone 11.2572, SEK 10.9832, forint 393.58, zloty 4.0494, koruna 24.0744, RUB 98.86, yen 156.96, sing 1.3432, HKD 7.7878, INR 86.33, China 7.2662, peso 20.57, BRL 6.0029, BBDXY 1301, Dollar Index 107.93, Oil $76.12, 10-year 4.58%, Silver $30.77, Platinum $947.00, Palladium $968.00, Copper $4.31, and Gold… $2, 754.52
That’s it for today… Nothing has changed with the tumor in my mouth… Nothing, absolutely nothing, say it again! I’m beginning to think that the trial I’m on, is not going to work… I’ll know more when I return to St Louis for another infusion in 3 weeks… How about that snow and ice that northern Florida is receiving? I bet there are people who have never seen the cold stuff! Good thing I’m far enough south of there, to have any effect on us… Although the weather temps aren’t what they normally are. We’ll get rain today, and tomorrow, and then on Friday the temp will only reach 60 degrees before this all turns around. Well, as I always say, “you have to have these days to fully enjoy the sunshine days”… Alice in Chains takes us to the finish line today with their song;” Down In A Hole”… I hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday today, and please be Good To Yourself!
Chuck Butler